It's a Wonderful Life
by Shaunee18
Summary: To some, high school is the best time of their lives. To others, it's the worst. Although sophomore year has just begun, tempers are high, the rivalries have grown, the drama begins, and the relationships and judgement of all the students are pushed to the limit. For some, it's a wonderful school life, but to others, it's a not so wonderful school life.
1. Pilot

**Alright, for those of you reading this and you read my other story - Danger Zone - or liked Doves and Grenades, you probably expected a story update, not a new story. Well, here's the thing -**

**With all the ideas I've seen on here and combined with all the ideas in my head, everything is turning into a jumbled mess and I can't put one solid idea together. I want to write my stuff the right way, not the fast way. That's where this comes in.**

**This here is a highschool call of duty fanfic. This is how I am going to take a break, by doing something fun, full of drama, funny, and different from everything else I've written. So all ideas I have will be put into this. I have never written anything like this, only military things and such, so co-writing this with me is my good friend Cass. Ravannah belongs to her. Alex to me.**

****This is meant to be fun and a way to get rid of old ideas and come up with new ones, while writing something good at the same time for you to enjoy****

**P.S. John MacTavish is Jason in this. Two John's was confusing! **

The third week of school has begun, teens still groggy from summer vacation being over. Sun barely peeking over the east horizon, Ravannah checked her watch. It was 6:30 in the morning, but she and Alex were the only ones out of their group present. Usually, everyone is here by now so they could walk to the diner around the corner and get some breakfast that didn't taste like the cardboard 'food' the school served. As a gust of wind blew Ravannah's bangs into her eyes again, she sighed loudly. "I flipped my brother out of bed when I left this morning, I hope he didn't just inch under his bed again to fall back asleep."

Alex shoved her hands in her pockets and watched as kids entered the school, but not one of them was one of her friends. It didn't surprise her that the others weren't up yet. Boys will boys, and that meant being late.

"My brother woke me up this morning. Very rudely, actually. I tried getting Jason and Simon up this morning. But with how those two acted, you'd think they were being taken to their own funeral."

She kicked at a rock in front of her and watched it bounce off the sidewalk until it landed in the street.  
>Maybe if those two hadn't stayed up all night and had actually been responsible, they wouldn't feel like they hadn't slept in three days. But who was she kidding? Neither of them would ever be responsible. At least, not for anything involving the word school.<p>

Ravannah's eyes watched as her brother Gary slunk over, his ebony, 'emo' styled hair brushed messily in to place – bangs over his left eye. He collapsed down next to her, using her shoulder to support his head.

"Ah, you're walking among us, baby bro."

Gary's nose turned up at being called baby brother, "A thirty mintute difference hardly makes me a baby brother."

"Born last makes you the baby, Gary."

Alex smiled a sleepy smile at Gary. She, like Gary, was no morning person. "Morning sleeping beauty. Get enough beauty sleep?"

He moved the bangs from his face, "I don't know, what do the bags under my eyes say? Do they say 'Alex is a sarcastic meanie'? Because that's what my brain is saying right now."  
>Ravannah pulls his head back onto her shoulder, "Now, now, go back to sleep. Do you need a lullaby?"<br>"You two are a bunch of bitches…"

Alex laughed at him and took a sip of her coffee. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as her brother, Vladimir, came around the corner of the school, slut on his arm and his gang rate behind him. She was at Jason's house all Saturday because of those two. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Gary and Ravannah

"You know Gary, this sarcastic meanie rate here has a solution to your problems. Either go to sleep early so you're not so crabby, or have some of this here coffee." She smiled to herself. "Jason and Simon could probably use some coffee about now. How much longer you think they'll be, Ravannah?"

Ravannah rolled her eyes, "Jason wouldn't stop texting me last night, and the last one I got was at two thirty, him claiming that he was going to die alone. You know the final out of like, fifty text messages after I muted my phone." Her hand lifted a can of an energy drink named "Drink Me" to her lips.  
>"He needs to get off my sister's nuts," Gary muttered, nibbling a cookie.<p>

Alex laughed. "I don't think there's a chance of that happening, Gar-bear. You're sister here is very attractive, if I do say so myself." Alex winked. "I'm not into to girls, but your sister is cute. Not to be creepy or anything."

He inched in his way closer to Ravannah, "Gary, we came from a split embryo, quit trying to mold us back together."

"But we are one!" His arms latched around her, "Come back to me, Ravan!"

"You are so weird!" She laughed, playfully pushing her brother away. She glanced up when she felt someone holding her shoulders, "Oh, hey, Jason? What's with the frown?"

"You quit texting me," He jokingly sniffled.

"Oh, you're such a child."

"You ain't the one who had to listen to it all night, Ravan."

Simon appeared beside him and moved over to Alex. "I was about to go over to your house, Al. How was your night anyways. Heard some yelling."

She shrugged. "Brother being an asshole again, nothing to worry about."

"I could do something about him," Gary puffed out his chest, "for my love."

Simon's fist collided with Gary's arm, "Say it again, and you'll be talking through a straw, mate."

On the floor, Gary hysterically rolled about, "Holy shit that hurt!" He laughed out through breaths.  
>The commotion from the small group caught the attention of the surrounding people, watching Simon shake his fist as Gary tried to calm his laughter on the floor. Jason shaking his head slowly, rolling Gary over with his foot. Ravannah and Alex just stared at each other, trying not to let out laughter themselves. They really should not encourage him. "Oh, great." Ravannah grumbled, "These idiots got your brother's friends' attentions."<p>

Alex looked over at her brother - he didn't look happy. Actually, he never looked happy if Gary, Jason, Simon, and Ravan were involved. She looked at each of her brother's friend's faces - Rojas, Foley, Zakhaev, Volk, Yuri - and others followed. "Well shit. Now look at you idiots did!"

Her previous amusement was replaced with anger. She did not need problems with her brother this early in the day. Lunch would be fine, but not before school had even started!

Vlad casually walked over and Alex back up to Simon's chest. "Hey little sis, what's up?" Alex rolled her eyes as he looked to Gary. "And you, kid, you running your mouth again?"

Gary frantically stumbled to his feet, Ravannah pulling him gently by his arm. Her eyes glancing over to him, "Gary, are you okay?"

"Yeah," his eyes trail over Vladimir, "let's go, yeah?"

Ravannah linked her arm with Alex's, "C'mon, the diner can't wait all day and neither will school."

Alex knew Vlad wasn't done as he stepped forward. Out of her protectiveness of her friends, she grabbed her brothers arm tightly. It not only shocked her that she was willing to make such a statement in front of the school, but the crowd around them as well.

Vlad glared down at her. "Brat, let go of me rate now."

She tightened her grasp on his arm. "Vovka, don't make a scene. You don't want to beat the shit out him and get expelled on the third week of school, do you?:

It was a long shot, but it was his senior year next year. If he got expelled, he wouldn't be a senior next year. Vlad took a long look at her and then looked at someone in their group, but she paid no attention to whom. If there was one thing she knew, taking her eyes off Vlad one minute could lead to fight the next.

With a jerk that threw her against Ravan, Vlad freed his arm of her grasp. "You tell your friend to keep his fucking trap shut, got it?" Alex nodded and watched him walk back to his friends. Vlad and his friends wouldn't take being made weaklings by a sophomore so lightly, especially when that sophomore was his little sister. Now she had to go home to that today.

Alex turned around and glared at Gary. "Thank you, smart mouth, for making my life even more miserable."

Gary's eyebrows furrowed, "Whoa, wait. You back your mouth up. All I did was make a joke, and Simon had to take it up the fucking ass. I didn't do a damn thing wrong beside make a small little joke. Another thing, _you're_ the one who grabbed his arm, not me. So, don't even look at me for anything right now, because the two mainly at fault are you and Simon."

Ravannah sighed, "How about we all just drop it and get some breakfast? It's six-forty-five in the morning, we're all tired and we're all hungry."

Alex glared at Gary. He had his point though. She sighed and hit Gary playfully. "Dude, I wish I could stay mad at you for more than three minutes." She wasn't mad at him or at Simon rate now, but just worried about going home. Home meant Vlad and his gang.  
>She looked to Ravan. "Hey, if my mom will let me, can I spend the night at your house, say, for the rest of my life? I mean, I love all you, but I really don't feel like dying."<p>

Ravannah chuckled slightly as they made their way towards the diner, "I could go home with you after school today, if you want."

Jason looked back to see Vlad watching them leave, "There's something up with him, like he's got a hard-on for our group. I mean, I understand sibling rivalry, but this is ridiculous."

"The worst Ravannah and I get is fighting of the Xbox," he gestured towards a bruise on his upper right arm, "Those can be deadly, though."

Alex looked back at her brother. "He's had a stick up his ass the last couple days, more than usual."  
>Simon chuckled. "Maybe it's the dead fish you threw up in his room."<p>

Alex smiled sweetly and opened the door to the diner for the group. She winked at Jason. "Or maybe he figured out who poked holes in all his condoms. And thank you for the idea, Jase."

Ravannah's mouth pulled to the left to make a smile, "Yeah, well, we're all going to be in hell for the rest of the school year, lovelies. Better get used to it."

Jason inched into the booth next to her, before Gary could even get close enough. Reluctantly, Gary pulls out a chair from the connecting table, "Keep your hands off of my sister, MacTavish."

Jason raised an eyebrow and put an arm over Ravan's shoulders. "Technically, this is an arm, not a hand."


	2. Risky Business

**To clear up your question: Vlad and Alex are siblings, Vlad being older. Ravan and Gary are siblings, they twins. **

**Thank you for reviewing and here's the next chapter!**

**OOOOOO**

Vlad sat at the island counter, staring at the doorway leading into the kitchen from the living room. Waiting for his bratty little sister to come walking in, so he could unleash what he's held in all day at school. Her embarrassing him like that and acting like she could ever take him. He gripped the knife in his hand tightly as he began to stab the space in between his fingers as a game, a game his mother and father repeatedly told him to stop playing on their expensive granite countertop. The loud thud of the door shutting caused him to look up, but not stop playing the game. "Welcome home, Alex."

Alex paused as she entered the kitchen and smiled a sickly sweet smile at him. "Oh it's just wonderful to see you ruining mom and dad's counter again." She walked over to the sink and stayed close to the knife holder. "Shouldn't you be at football practice or with the slut?

He grinned slightly, "Football practice doesn't start until late September, dumbass." He stood, throwing the knife into the wall above Alex, causing her to flinch slightly. "What the fuck were you, Ravan and those idiots doing this morning and where the fuck do you come off grabbing me like that?"

Alex glared at her brother and removed the knife from the wall above her. "Well, fucktard, I grabbed your arm so you didn't kill someone," she then placed the knife back in its holder and moved to the fridge to get something to drink. Her brother and his damn mood were going to kill her.

"And we were just messing around, what's wrong with that? It's not like you and your dumbass friends don't fuck around with each other."

"I wasn't going to kill anyone, I was just going put Ravan's fuckwit brother in his place," he said, nonchalantly, his fingers wrapping around an apple, leaning against the countertop.

Alex took a carton of orange juice from the fridge and leaned up against the island counter, looking her brother over with caution. He seemed a little more pissy than usual. "I could have easily done that for you almighty dumbass." She placed the carton on the counter behind her. "And I'm probably headin' over to Jason's tonight, if you don't mind." Her first thought was to stay the night with Simon, her boyfriend, but Jase had told her he needed her "help" with some issues.

Vlad's nose turned up at the name Jason, "What about Ravan? What will she being doing while you spend the night with Old McDonald?" He deamnor slightly changing as he took a bite out of his apple, his back tightened to stand him up right.

Alex smirked knowingly. "Oh I'm not sure. Ravan does a lot a stuff..."

"So, she has no plans with you?" His smile grew even bigger, "I suppose not with her shift at the Coffee Bean tonight, I suppose I could stop by. Keep her company since her friends are all going to be too busy for her." Fingers inching towards his keys while his teeth dig into the apple yet again, "I have nothing better to do, anyway."

Alex smiled at her brother and flicked a crumb off the island counter at him, hitting his stomach.

"I should never have told you when and where she works."

She knew about her brother's crush on Ravan, but she wouldn't dare tell anyone, not even Ravan herself. Her brother had practically choked her when she had overheard him talking to Yuri about it. If it hadn't been for Yuri, and her swearing to not tell a soul, she could very well be in the hospital rate now. It had occurred to her to tell Ravan, but not only did she feel awkward, but she didn't want Ravan to not come over.

"But bro, I really don't think that's a good idea. You're already a creep as it."

Vlad looped his finger through his car keys, "Not as creepy as you and your friends are. I'm sure she'll love spending time with someone of her maturity range. You and Jason have fun with whatever it is your doing, but my sweet-tooth is buzzing." He began his stride out of the room, the kind that would make you want to jump out of the way if he came towards you. "And I'm not talking about coffee helping my sweet-tooth, either."

Crude was not something Alex expected from her brother, and it honestly shocked her, and it scared her for what he might do. But Vlad wasn't _that _kind of person, at least, not that she knew of. "Vlad, don't you dare do anything to hurt her or I swear to god…"

**OoO**

Ravan watched a group of giggling cheerleaders made their way out of the door, the once bussling shop now fell silent. Which was very unsettling. For the moment, she pulled out her phone and for once, there was not a message from Jason waiting, but rather Gary. All it read was that he finally got his first MOAB on Ghosts. With a smile to herself, she sent back a thumbs up emote. Tucking it back in her pocket, she glanced about the eerily quiet coffee shop.

The tables usually full of classmates, or people with their laptops were barren. The scent of coffee wasn't fresh anymore, it smelt stale and old. All she could do was clean up, well, wipe down the tables. Before she could grab anything, she saw Joseph Allen and Paul Ramirez outside. Joseph's hand wrapped tightly around the door handle, but he didn't open it. They both were looking to their left and instead of walking in – they bolted. Faster than anything, Ravan had ever seen. She was expecting the shaking steps of a monster or the fire breath of a dragon by the look of their panicked faces. However, no, it was much worse. It was Vladimir Makarov.

When he entered, it was almost as if he sucked the heat out of the room. She had never been left alone with him before, and she was waiting for one of her friends to come running to save her. None of them were going to come; they were all off doing their own thing. Gary was at home, Jason and Simon were with Alex, John and Gareth were both at work as well. Andy and Gerald were at the gym. They made eye contact, his stare burning into her being. She cleared her throat,

"Welcome to the Coffee Bean, what may I get you?" Her voice noticeably shook.

Vlad was pleased when he entered the Coffee Bean and saw there was no one there. Though it was unusual, he suspected it was because he was there. On the bright side of things, to him, Ravan was waiting at the counter, looking a little fidgety. It was very un-Ravan like.

He sat at the counter in front of her and shoved his car keys into his pocket. He smiled, "Latte and something…" Vlad looked her over, not bothering to hide that he was doing so. "and something sweet, please, Ravan."

Ravan wasn't going to make the stupid mistake of asking what kind of latte he wanted. She made him a basic caramel latte, nothing too spectacular. Not wanting to give the impression of him being anything special to her. Anything she ever gave more than one thought to. She walked behind the display where all their treats were and gave him a regular special, just a giant peanut butter cookie with decadent chocolate inside. Sliding the items in front of him, she rung him up. "Seven dollars and twenty-five cents."

Vlad nodded and took out his wallet. He felt his phone going off and knew it was Alex, but chose to ignore her. Little brat thought she could tell him what he should and shouldn't do. There was a reason why Alex listened to him and not the other way around, besides him being older and bigger than her.

He gave her a ten and decided to try and make conversation, even if it meant talking about the group of friends she hung out with, anything to break an awkward atmosphere. "So, what are your friends doing tonight?"

While getting his change, she glanced at him. "Um… Gary's at home, not exactly sure about Simon and Jason, John and Gareth are working… And I think Andy and Gerald are at the gym. Just a regular Monday, I suppose." She held her hand out to him, his change staring him in the face.

Looking at his change, he moved a hand forward and held his hand out. "Hmm. _Jason _will be having Alex over tonight, as far as I know."

The tips of her fingers brushed against the rough skin of his palm as she placed his change, causing her hair to stand on end. In the five and half years she's known Alex, she has never, _ever _touched Vlad. It felt weirld. "Yeah, she told me about that," she muttered. Mindlessly, she began to stack some fallen over cups, knocked over from the rush that comes in every day, right after school.

Vlad felt goose bumps move up his arm as their skin brushed. It wasn't like Natalie, his current _girlfriend_. Natalie was a cruel, vile person, who cared about nothing but her popularity and being with a star athlete, although she was very pretty. Long, silk soft, curly blonde hair that was unusually soft under his fingers. For a moment it made him wonder what her hair felt like. And Ravan's eyes weren't cold like Natalie's – they were always kind and warm.

He let the change fall into his pocket and watched as she left to fix some cups a foot away from him. He took a sip of his latte and watched her move as she restacked the cups and lined them up neatly. He took another quick sip and moved from his seat towards her.

"You look like you could use some help with those." His hands moved to help her put the cups back, and accidentally grabbed her hand in the process. Instead of letting go, he held into her hand and the cup for a moment.

Her hand tensed up just enough to make the cup crinkle slightly under her fingers, making a faint crackle as the plastic was bent. She waited, waiting for Vlad to move his hand. But he didn't. He kept his fingers wrapped around her own, his fingers overlapping hers. Clearing her throat, she slowly pulled her hand away from his and stacked the now ever so crinkled cup. She watched as he finished stacking the cups, as she stood there in a daze. "Thank you, Vlad," she gently pushed the cups back against the wall.

Vlad gently smiled at her, most likely the nicest thing he had ever done. "You're welcome, Ravan."

His phone rang again, but he once again ignored it. If it was Alex, he'd kill her when he got home. If it was friend, he'd kill them tomorrow. "Happen to need help with anything else?"

Ravan shook her head while taking off her apron, revealing her emerald green low cut, long sleeved shirt. Placing it on the hook she looked back at him, "No, it's time for me to close up and walk home, but thank you for helping with the cups." As she made her way around the corner, turning off machines as she walked past them. She ended up standing in front of Vlad, him towering over her small stature. The shadow casting over her made her stomach tighten.

He knew Ravan would tell Alex anything that happened, but he couldn't help himself as he looked her over, letting his eyes wander. Alex sure knew how to pick girlfriends, guy friends and boyfriends, he couldn't agree on. But he could agree on Ravan.

Not being able to help himself, he stepped closer and locked eyes on her lips. How mad would Alex be? Or how mad would Ravan be? While he looked at her lips, he took out his keys. "If you'd like, I could give you a ride home. Wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

She wasn't sure if her friends would like her getting a ride home from Vlad, Alex she as hell wouldn't recommend it. But, she was tired and her legs were hurting. With a simple nod, "If it's not any trouble, I would appreciate it." Her hands placed on his arms to turn him around towards the door. The tips of her fingers against the middle of his back as she led him out of the shop. Forgetting who he was for a moment, she almost yanked her hand away. _Touching _someone who _hated _to be touched by anyone. She had him wait outside as she set the alarm, all the while she was kicking herself. Alex couldn't touch him, she sure as hell should've have. Simply locking the door, followed him to his car and climbed into the passenger seat.

As he observed her climbing into the passenger's seat, he put the keys into the ignition and brought the car to life. For a moment back there he thought she'd say no, but it was a happy surprise she had said yes to giving her a ride home.

He knew Alex would not be happy, but what was she going to do? He didn't want her nagging at him, so maybe it best if she didn't know. Though he doubted that would happen whether he asked Ravan to not tell her not. Everything was worth a try.  
>Turning the headlights on, he turned to Ravan. "I'm going to need directions. And if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Alex I gave you a ride home." He wasn't afraid of his sister, but she had her moments when she could be just as scary as himself.<p>

"Just drive down to the park, go right and turn on to Sacramento." She didn't even glance at him as she pulled out her phone. The name Baby-Brother across the screen, checking messages from him. "I'll let you know what house," her fingers rapidly replied to a couple of texts from different people.

Vlad followed her directions, occasionally glancing at her phone. He saw Baby-Brother, but didn't get a good glimpse of the others, other than some unanswered text messages from Alex. With Alex over at Jason's, the fucker was bound to know what was going on. The thought of Jason made his hands tighten on the steering wheel.

Trying to lighten his own mood and seem more talkative, he decided to try and start conversation. It wasn't something he was particularly good at. "So, what did you do this past weekend?"

"Jason, Gary, Andy and I all went to the Amusment Park down town," her face lit up in a way that was unfamiliar to him. "Then I went to go watch Gerald's boxing match with the rest on Sunday. He knows how to knock someone out, let me tell you that." She looked directly at him, a smile across her face and a twinkle in her eye from the excitement of the weekend. "What about you?"

He wasn't familiar with the feelings in her eyes or the ones that showed with her body language. He could recall a few times when Alex had been like that, but he never knew what it was about. He wasn't one to ask a personal question like that.

"Hmmm… Gerald is a good boxer. He'll make state for sure." He looked at Ravan and realized he had actually given a compliment to Gerald. He felt his face heat up from embarassment of the statement and looked away. "At least, that's what I've heard. I hung out with Yuri and company most of the weekend at my house, or Foleys. Went to the boxing matches on Sunday and that ends it."

"Sounds… fun, I suppose. I like going out and having fun. I mean, staying home is fun and all, but not all the time." Her eyes softened as she looked away, the excitement fled from her body. She forgot whom she had been talking to. She was talking to Vladimir, someone who couldn't understand a normal person's fun if he was a part of it. The tips of her fingers tapped against the top of her phone as the name Jason read across the screen. She took her time to answer it, but it wasn't rushed and she didn't have a huge smile on her face like most girls would have.

"Yeah, you, Alex, and your… gang seem to go out a lot. Every weekend it seems. Damn, I need to find out how she gets money out of our parents for everything."

He glanced at her and saw her smile had faded. That just wouldn't do. He liked her smile. "You should always be smiling, it makes you look…" He felt uncomfortable finishing that sentence. He wouldn't have even said anything like _that _to Natalie.

Her bright, harlequin green orbs glanced over to him. Was Alex's brother, Vladmir Makarov, about to compliment her? Was compliment even in his vocabulary? "Makes me look what?"

The look of disbelief on her face made the corner of his mouth inch up into a side smile. He wanted the finish, but it felt… weird. Not weird weird, but it just made him feel uncomfortable. If only Yuri could see him now. He could take on a two-hundred pound linebacker, but he couldn't compliment a girl.  
>He was thankful it was dark so she couldn't see his reddened face. "It makes you look happy, perfect actually, and... more beautiful than… you usually are." There, he said it. He watched her from the corner of his eye, waiting for a reaction<p>

A light smile formed on Ravan's full pale pink lips, a very content smile. "Thank you; it's the two-story at the end of the road." Her house stood up from the rest of the neighborhood because of her parents renovating. As the car pulled to a stop, she undid he seatbelt. She liked when Vlad acted like a human being, rather than some big brute. Like he had something to show off for the rest of the world. Her arms wrapped around the back of his neck as she pulled him into a deep hug, her mouth next to his ear. "I like talking to you when you're like this," her voice quiet, "it's really nice, actually."

Vlad felt a genuine smile spread across his face as she hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her as to return the gesture and put his lips on her ear, "May I walk you up to your house, or is that over stepping a boundary?" He had already overstepped all his boundaries tonight, so why not just break down the rest? Her brother should be asleep by now, so he didn't see a problem with it.

Ravan nodded only once as she got out of the passenger seat. As they walked up fancy tiled path that her mother spent an entire weekend putting in, it felt almost unreal. She didn't rush in right away like she would have if anything went any differently today. She looked up to see a different Vlad. Like Vlad was only at school, and then with her he was Vladimir. She never really took note of his different colored eyes, but they were gorgeous. With a smile, she hugged him again, this time differently. She wasn't tall enough to wrap her arms around his neck comfortably, so her arms wrapped around his middle. Her cheek placed against his chest. "Thank you for giving me a ride home."

He rewrapped his arms around her and since he was on a roll with breaking down boundaries tonight, he kissed the top of her head. It was such a strange gesture for him, and a strange feeling. But he had to admit, he liked it. Natalie never hugged him like this, or smiled at him like that.  
>He hugged her a little tighter. "I'll be happy to give you a ride home anytime, Ravan."<p>

Gary peered down at his sister and Vlad from his room, his eyes doubled in size. He took in a simple deep breath, pulled out his phone and flipped through his contacts. He kept himself calm, yeah, this was fine. Vlad kissed the top of her head, everything is okay. His sister wasn't dating him, it's alright. Everything will be okay, Simon will know what to do. The phone run three times before Simon answered. With another deep breath inhaled, he walked away from the window and into the farthest part of the house – the small bathroom. "RAVAN IS HUGGING THE DEVIL AND THE DEVIL KISSED THE TOP OF RAVAN'S HEAD!" His cries became hysterical.


	3. 13 Sins

Alex sat on her black leather couch with Jason and listened as Simon tried to calm a hysterical Gary on the other end of the line from the kitchen. Even from there she could here is hysterical cries and the word "devil" repeatedly. What the fuck was he talking about? Maybe he had watched too many horror movies tonight and became paranoid. Alex did that a lot.

Simon was yelling at Gary, clearly agitated. She wondered what could be wrong. She looked at Jason and leaned on his shoulder as they resumed their game of Ghosts, which she was beating his ass at. After Simon calmed Gary down, things would go back to normal for the night. Or at least until her brother came home.

"Dude, it better be important."

Jason smiled and nudged her side. "You're just saying that because you want your spot back on your boo's lap." Alex slapped his arm playfully and flicked one of the joysticks on the xbox remote, instantly revealing his character to her scope and winning the game. "And that's how it's done, Jase."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh let us all bow down to the mighty and all powerful Alex."

"Yeah, almighty and powerful Alex with kick your ass." Alex glanced back at her phone as it went off. It was Ravan. Oh thank God she was alright. Her brother hadn't done anything stupid, or at least she hoped not.

Simon walked back into the room, his phone still pressed tightly against his ear. His right eyebrow rose while his left furrowed. "Gary, are you sure about it?" There was a loud noise from the phone, "Alright, um… I'll tell Alex, yeah? Alright, Gary. Just hide in your room. No, do not call an exorcist. No, do—JUST DON'T DO ANYTHING." His phone slid back into his pocket. "Apparently, Gary saw Ravan and Vlad getting very… familiar with each other."

Alex felt her mouth drop. Vlad he… no he wouldn't… would he? Alex's brother and her best friend… oh God. Oh God! She told her brother not to be stupid! He was a fucking asshole, who just so happened to be charming too.

She stared wide eyed at Simon as he raised an eyebrow at her. Now the word devil made sense. Now she was just offended. That made her the sister of the devil, which was actually an accurate description. But still… "What? Don't look at me like that. You two are looking at me like this is my fault!"

Simon's eye glanced over to Jason, a subtle look of hurt across his face. His hand released the Xbox controller and it made a _thunk _against the floor. "You alright, Jason?" he was hesitant to ask. Jason's eyes never moved from the floor in front of him, it was like everything around him had caved in at the thought of Ravan and Vlad actually being something.

Alex's eyes softened as she looked at Jason. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, gently rubbing his back. "I really don't think Ravan would consider being with Vlad, Jase…" Should she tell them about how serious this crush on Ravan was? No. She couldn't risk Vlad finding out she told someone.

Jason rubbed his face. "It's just…"

She could visibly see how upset Jason was. She hated seeing him like this. "Jase, please? It's my brother for god's sake…" He still wouldn't speak.

Simon plopped down next to Alex, "Mate, Gary probably didn't see something right. I thought you asked Ravan out Friday." His orbs scanned over Jason's face, looking for something. Jason's eyebrows dipped further as he pulled away from Alex. "Mate… you did…. Didn't you?"

Jason looked away. "Well, I was going to… but then I got nervous and it just didn't go the right way."

Alex groaned and put her forehead against Jason's shoulder. "Dude, we rehearsed it like ten times. I've been talking to you for weeks about this. Have you been talking to him about this?" Alex looked at Simon.

"Well, yeah…" Simon glanced at Jason's phone. He picked it up, and his face lit up. "Ravan messaged you, mate! See? Everything is fine!" His giddy smile faded as he read over the text, "Um…. She said… that she has thirty unread text messages from you, 'lol'…" Alex's eyes darted over to him, and he looked down.

Alex continued to rub his back. She needed to send them home, but she couldn't while Jason was like this. Headlights came through the window and she seemed to be the only one to notice. There was no way in hell that Vlad would be back that fast.

She smiled at Jason. "Jase, don't give up. Just because my fucktard brother thinks he has a shot doesn't mean you should let yourself get down. Tomorrow or the next you need to ask her out before you lose the chance."

Jason looked up at her. "How can you be sure he hasn't asked her out?" Alex rolled her eyes and stood up, taking Jason's arm. "Because that's my brother and my best friend. If he asked her out tonight or any other time I'll castrate him. Now can you both go in the kitchen or upstairs for, like, five minutes?"

**OoO**

Ravan shut the door behind her softly, thinking her family was asleep. Her hand swung her backpack onto the chair beside the couch and she crept towards the stairs. Every other step, the damn things creeked. Turning directly to her right, she collapsed onto her bed. This night has been rather odd, first with Vlad and then Jason not messaging her back like he usually would. It was… off putting, in a way. She felt like she was being watched, and she sat up. Peeking through the crack of the door was matching harlequin orbs. "Baby-brother? What are you doing?" Her legs stretching out as she walked to the door. Hand pulling the door back, she looked at her brother's frantic face. Pale pink around his eyes, and streaks like he had been crying. "Gary, what happened to you? Did you watch_13 Sins _again?"

Gary wiped his eyes. "Oh I watched _13 Sins _alright! It was rate outside my bedroom window!"

Her right eyebrow rose, "What are you talking about, you weirdo? Do I need to get the pull out mattress so you can sleep in here tonight?"

Gary shook his head furiously. "Don't play stupid with me! I may be the baby brother but I am not stupid! The Devil was outside my window tonight with my sister!"

"Oh, Geez, Gary…" she sits down on her bed, "Vlad just gave me a ride home so I didn't walk home alone."

"You let him touch you! He kissed your head! _You _hugged him first! What the hell was that? 'Cause don't tell me it was just a ride home, Ravannah!"

"Look, Gary, he was being very nice to me and helped me a bit with my shift," her eyebrows furrowed, "nothing more than me hugging him happened. I didn't know he was going to kiss my head. What was I supposed to do? Push him a way so he can fuck with us tomorrow at school? Don't act like anything more happened, Gary Bryce Sanderson."

Gary's voice got very high pitched and squeaky. "Nice? Nice? Vladimir Makarov nice? That man or demon or whatever the hell he is is not nice! I'm pretty sure that word isn't even in his vocabulary!"

"Well he was to me!" She shouted in his face, "For once a guy isn't being wishy-washy. He was really sweet to me, and said I had a beautiful smile and he didn't fucking compliment other girls while talking to me!" Her voice holding hurt.

Gary placed a finger against her chest. "He's bad news! Look how many girls he's been through, like, everyone on the cheer team and then he passes them on to his friends! I don't want to see you end up being one of those girls!" He let his arms fall to his sides. "I'm just worried and I don't like him. Look at everything he does! He's an asshole Ravan! You've spent enough time over at Alex's to know that by now!"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" She pushed him, "Do you, B minus student, think that I'm stupid? I never said anything about dating him, Gary. And for you to think that I would _allow _myself to be _passed _around like is just fucking sickening. You, my own brother, my brother who shared a womb wth me, my brother who came from the same embryo really thinks that lowly of me?" Another push and he hits the wall. "I just thought it was nice for a guy to actually treat me nice for a moment. Because I can't expect it from anyone else. I can barely expect it from my own flesh and blood, apparently." She stared directly into his eyes. Their shared trait of a small fuse to a big temper showing as his eyes began to flair up too.

"That's how everything starts! First he's driving you home and hugging you, and the next you're wrapped around his arm as his girlfriend! I'm trying to point that out to you! So don't come crying to me later because I'm telling you rate now – stay away from him!" Gary picked up his phone. "And if you don't mind, I'm calling Alex because she's the only one who can help me understand why my sister got a ride home with a guy who has to be the most dangerous person at our school!"

"Oh, so next time I'll walk home from work alone, at night, Gary. You're such an idiot sometimes! You, my BROTHER, was supposed to be there five minutes before I had to close up to take me home. Where were you? Right, you were sitting on your ass, stuffing your face and playing a fucking game! Go cry to Alex, then. Next time you OD on horror movies, or dad yells at you, or someone makes fun of you at school – go to her."

"I will go to her! I'll go over to house and make sure that bastard never leaves the damn house, even if it means I have to die!" Gary turned on his heels and slammed Ravannah's door in her face. He was just trying to look out for her! Vlad was trouble! He had it written all over him, in big, black, bold letters. Look at me! I love getting into and causing trouble and going through all the girls in the school! He sighed and turned to her door, resting his head on it. Why did she always have to be difficult?

"Gary Sanderson!" Ravan opened the door and he stumbled into her. She sighed as her younger, taller brother wrapped his arms around her tightly, instead of trying to keep Vlad out, he was trying to keep her in. Her arms wrapped around him and they stood there for a moment. They rarely fought, but when they did – they both felt awful right after it. "Ry… I know you're watching out for me and I know you love me – I love you too, but sometimes you over-react just a bit." She looked up at him, "Just like I do." His hand rose to brush his bangs out of his face, "I'm not going to run off with Vlad if that's what you're thinking. I just thought it was a nice gesture, is all. I'm sorry for yelling at you, baby-brother…"

He sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry too. It's just… you know I don't like him, none of us do. And I love you so seeing him, you – it's still not going well in my head." He rested his chin on top of her head. "But I'm still calling Alex. I'm surprised she hasn't called already. I wonder what's got her busy?"

"Whatever has Jason busy too…" Ravan muttered.


	4. Love Sick

**Time seems to fly. I didn't even realize it's been this long since I posted to this story. But anyways: Thank your for the follows/favorites and thank you Prettyprincess45 for the review. **

**Chapters are getting longer, so bare with me. Enjoy :D**

**OoO**

Alex stood in front of the couch, looking at her unexpected guest. It was no Vlad, but it was much worse. She couldn't turn him away with the face he gave her or with the bruises on his neck. So she did the least she could do – she got an ice pack, a bottle of mountain dew, and a bag of cheetos. He made himself at home, laying his black leather jacket on the couch, and being polite enough to leave his boots in the hallway.

She would have rather had him show up when her boyfriend and one of her best friends wasn't upstairs, but she wasn't in control of that apparently. Talking to Yuri would have been a delight, but not with two of her gang in the house. There was a chance they'd over hear any nice conversation and she didn't want to explain her and Yuri's friendship.

"You need anything else, Yuri? Maybe a real meal? Or a new ice pack? That bruise is nasty. And I'm pretty sure it'll welt."

Yuri rubbed the dark purple marks on the left side of his neck, "No, this is more than I could ask you for, Alex. I'm used to scrapes and bruises, so I'll be completely fine…" His eyes trailed off, "How are you, though?" Voice lingering, like he knew something was amiss in Vlad's house.

She smiled at him. It had been awhile since she had been alone with Yuri, though technically she wasn't alone with him. She hadn't been alone with him since… since last year. "Good, I guess. School is good, social life is alright, home life is… well you know how it is." She relaxed a little bit and sat on the coffee table in front of him.

"What about you? How are you? How are you and your… parents?" Parents were an iffy subject for him, especially since she knew his father caused the marks on his neck. Although she knew the answer, she wanted to hear it from him. She could only hope Simon and Jason weren't listening in.

He looked at her, "Well, you know how it is," he just about mocked. His fingers pressed against the bruises once more, "I'm glad things are going good for you, though. Besides Vlad, of course, but we all know what he's like. Especially when Natallie starts running around again."

Alex rolled her eyes at Natalie's name. "Oh don't get me started on Natalie. That blonde bimbo just waltz's into my house like she owns the damn place. Sits on my brother's lap all clingy and shit, and orders me around. That girl just makes me want to rip every single one of her blonde hairs out of her head!" She groaned. "Do you feel me here, Yuri? I can't be the only one who finds that slut annoying!"

"Natalie is very abrasive and bossy… But I don't think Vlad is going to have her around much longer," he took a sip from his drink, "he's been talking about a new girl lately."

"And I think we both know who he's talking about. I don't like it, Yuri." Alex squirmed in her seat. She didn't like the thought of Ravan and her brother being a… couple. It just didn't sound right.

Yuri sat up right, "I don't really have a negative thought about it, besides what you and your friends would do," he set his drink down, "Ravan's a good girl and all, maybe she'll help Vlad stop acting as bad as he does, you know? Kind of like an angel in disguise type of thing. You helped me calm down a bit, don't you remember?"

Alex felt her face heat up and couldn't help herself as she hit his shoulder. She whisper/yelled at him, "Be quiet! I have Jason and Simon hiding somewhere in the house! What happened is supposed to be a secret, remember? Can you imagine the fuse Vlad would blow if he found out? Or my friends? I don't want that kind of attention and I'm pretty sure you want to live a bit longer!"

His eyes bore into her being, "I'm not the one hiding friends, or boyfriends in the house, Alex. I didn't know they were here, so I thought I could speak freely with the other secret holder." The headlights shined through the window yet again, the deep purple bruises being shown in an almost choking manner. As the front door opened, Vlad walked in. The weird part, he wasn't walking his normal stride. It seemed lighter, and you could almost see there was a smile on his face today. It sent a small chill up Yuri's spine.

Alex raised an eyebrow at her brother. "Well you look… happy?" Happy was something she'd never seen on Vlad. Maybe once, but it was hard to remember when.

That small, almost unnoticeable, smile on his face stunned her. "Oh, just had a good night is all."

She looked between Yuri and Vlad. This was _not _her brother. This was invasion of the body snatchers in full force, because he didn't even realize Yuri was in the living room with her. And he didn't make some snide comment like _"You know where I was." _or _"Where do you think I was?"_ It made her feel a tad uncomfortable.

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but did you happen to smoke something tonight? Or take some sort of drugs?"

Vlad shrugged, a certain gleam in his eyes. "You could call it a drug." Alex just stared at her brother, stunned. She looked at Yuri and saw him the same way.

Yuri stood up to stand by Vlad, "Where did you go? Did you go watch the boxing match between Quincy and Gerald?" Scanning over his face, this was something he had never seen in the long time that he's known Vlad. He casually sniffed like he was going to sneeze, why did Vlad smell like a fresh Spring day laced with lime? He had smelt that before, but he couldn't place where. Maybe it was one of the cheerleaders.

Vlad shrugged and threw his jacket on the leather chair next to couch. "The Coffee Bean to see Ravan." It was as if Vlad finally realized Yuri was at his house. "And what are you doing here? I got your texts. You alright my friend?" To Alex, it sounded like he was trying to change the subject.

He shifted uneasily while looking at Vlad, "Yes, I am alright. By going to see Ravan, do you mean to see her to get coffee? Because you smell like a Spring day, my friend." He lifted up his jacket, "And," he sniffed once, "a female hair product. That seems more than just coffee, friend."

Vlad rolled his eyes at Yuri. "She needed a ride home. I didn't want the pretty little thing getting mugged or worse by walking home alone."

Alex leaned against the couch. If her brother was in such a good mood, maybe she could get away with some teasing. "Oh you're not telling the whole story, Vovka," Alex turned to Yuri with a smile. "he hugged her, say, twice, and kissed her head."

Then Alex raised an eyebrow at Yuri, about to ask how he knew what Spring day and lime smelled like, until she remembered that she and Ravan usually used the same hair products and perfume. She felt her face get red once again as Yuri looked over at her, like he knew what she was thinking about.

Vlad sat on the leather chair and took a mountain dew from the coffee table, apparently not going very far from his jacket. "Would you shut up Alex? Don't ruin my mood." But Alex just couldn't help herself and burst out laughing, and ended up needing to use Yuri as support. Oh this was just too funny for her! Her brother was starting to get defensive.

He glanced down at his arm as Alex crackled off, it felt good, but burned him inside. He was still a tad sore from the break-up, and remembered Alex not being okay with the whole Ravan/Vlad coupling. A smile tipped-toed its way across the face, "Vlad, it seems Alex is all giddy that you and Ravan seem to tolerate each other. So, if best comes to best, you and _Ravan_," he said that looking down at Alex so she'd hear it louder, "start dating, she shouldn't have any problem with it."

Alex immediately stopped laughing and looked at Vlad, who raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, you seem to find this very funny. Wasn't it you who told me not to go?"

Her mouth dropped open at him. Oh she was screwed, and not with Vlad, at least, not yet. She'd deal with Yuri later. But Vlad's question/statement to her roused the boys in the house. She could hear them whispering at the top of the stairs from where she stood next to Yuri, and by the look on Vlad's face, he heard them too.

"Alex, what the fuck was that?" She glared up at Yuri. "Nothing, no one!"

Vlad wasn't so easily fooled. "Alex, who the fuck is in my house!?" She sighed. She didn't feel like fighting with him. She had already lost the first fight, and knew she'd lose this one. "You two can come out now." She tightened her grip on Yuri's arm, and smiled when he winced as her fingernails dug into his skin. Bastard.

Simon walked down the steps, but instead of walking completely through the doorway, he stopped. He put his hands against both sides, Jason reeling behind him. "It is a lovely night out tonight, isn't it? I mean a cool seventy-eight degrees, and a nice little wind chill. The sky clear of clouds and the moon full."

Jason pushed on his back, causing his abdomen to lead forward slightly, "Gerald won against Quincy, by the way. I think we should all go out and celebrate this wondrous occasion!"

Yuri looked weirdly at Simon, "You are a weird one, aren't you, friend? We know how the weather is, we all were outside tonight while you were kept in this house with Vlad's _little sister_." He glanced at Vlad, "Without Vlad even being here."

Simon's eyebrows furrowed, "Shut the fuck up, mate, you don't know anything. Jason was here the entire time."

"Rooms have doors, my friend… Rooms have doors…"

Before Simon could retort, Jason shoved him hard enough to make him stumble forward. He walked into the room, but didn't leave Simon's side. Simon looked over at his friend and then turned his attention back to Yuri. "Sorry, mate, I'm not some pervert who can't keep a girl because all he cares about is sex, you moron."

Vlad was on his feet in a second and at his sister's side in under two. If there was one thing that he hated the most, it was Alex having a boyfriend. He glared at her and she backed up against Yuri. "You invited _your_ _boyfriend _into _my house_ while I wasn't fucking here or without my fucking permission!? What the fuck did you do!?"

Her grip on Yuri's arm tightened. She needed to be saved, but she doubted any of them would come to her rescue. "We sat out here and played the Xbox! We didn't do anything!"

"They really didn't Vlad, I was here the entire time!"

Alex gaped at Jason. She had never _ever _heard Jason raise his voice around her brother. Jason looked shocked himself, and Vlad, he was more pissed than before. "And what the hell are you doing in my house? You and your friend have no business being here!" Vlad was infuriated that not only was Simon, Alex's boyfriend here, but Jason as well.

"Hey, let's all just calm down." Simon made a smoothing motion with his hand, "It's kind of late—"

"It's only eight thirty, you moron." Yuri spat.

"…It's kind of late, we're all a little tired. Let's not have anything rash happen," Simon grabbed Jason's arm, "You three seem to have a lot to talk about, Jason and I are going to go over to Gary's." He left Ravan's name out of this, hoping they'd be too infuriated to remember that Gary and Ravan are related. It's pretty difficult to forget, since they're the only twins their school.

"That's right, just run off like a little fairy," Yuri smiled, "Run, run, little boy."

"At least I don't get smacked around by my daddy," Simon growled back. Yuri pursed his lips for a moment, not saying anything more. For the moment.

Alex gaped at Simon. That was a low blow, especially for him, and he was going to leave her here. Alone. With Vlad and Yuri. But Simon had a point. "I think Simon's right. Let's all calm down before someone gets hurt." She glanced up at Yuri and gave him a reassuring squeeze on his wrist. She still cared about his life and knew that had to sting.

Even though Alex, Simon, and Jason had agreed to some peace, Vlad was not done. He had some twisted plan going on in his head, Alex could see it. "Oh, leaving so soon? Please stay a little longer." His voice was tense and angry.

Vlad took a menacing step forward at Simon and Jason. "Or you can both run out that door back to Jason's," then, Vlad looked at Jason. "Tell your friend Ravan hello for me tomorrow… or on second thought, I'll do it myself."

Simon watched as a vein in Jason's neck began to show, something that only happened when he was getting angry. "Or, how about you don't say hi to Ravan, we don't tell her you said hi, and we all stay in our groups. We don't want you in ours, and I'm sure people in your group don't want Ravan with yours." Ravan had been Simon's best friend since they were three, she, Gary and himself all grew up with each other, not meeting everyone else until middle school when their families moved together to get away from the bullying problem at their first school. He wasn't going to let Vlad move in on her, not in a million years. Neither was Gary, and that over-active, short fused, brother wasn't going to go down without a fight. Knowing damn well that Gary wouldn't last a minute with Vlad, it was time for Simon to stop hiding in the shadows of this. He wasn't sure how long he could last in a fight with Vlad himself, but a whole lot longer than Gary ever could.

Yuri pulled his wrist away from Alex, "How would you even know what his friends thought? You don't know us, so don't be putting words in our mouths, you fucker."

With a simple smirk, Simon retorted, "I know for a fact Foley doesn't like her because she kicked his ass in eighth grade. I know for a fact that Alexander doesn't like her because she's too bubbly. Maybe even too bubbly for Vlad, as a matter a fact. I mean, really, do you think all of you guys could deal with someone who's pretty much always happy, always eager and someone that would outshine all of your intelligences in a heartbeat? Do you really think you'd be able to handle that?"

Alex was lost, confused. She didn't know what to say or what to do. Simon was standing up to her brother and Yuri, she was in the shit house with Vlad and one wrong move from her he'd have her hide. Not to mention Yuri wasn't being much a help. For the first time in a long time, she wanted to cry, and she knew everyone could see her eyes getting watery. She never cried. Last time she cried was last year, when she broke up with Yuri. But the events before her were not under her control and one false move from anyone could lead into a brawl, one that may end with serious injury. She didn't want that to happen.

As Vlad went to speak, she grabbed his arm and twisted it around so he went to the couch. "Vlad, you shut the fuck up and stay on the fucking couch!" He was shocked at her outburst.

She moved to Simon next. "And Yuri's right! You don't know what the fuck goes on in their group or how they fucking think! And I'm not going to deal with your fucking mouth trying to start a damn fight!"

And then she looked at Jason. She couldn't yell at him. She was shaking with anger and hurt. "Both of you, please get the fuck out of my house!"

"This is my house, Alexandria!" Oh no Vlad did _not _call her Alexandria. She pointed a finger at him. "Don't make me call the Big Man!" Vlad's jaw clenched and he sat back down. If there was one person Vlad actually feared, it was the Big Man. It was always a last resort when they were left alone at home. This was the first time she had actually used it as a threat.

Simon's jaw tightened, "I'm going to protect someone who's like my little sister, someone who's treated me good all my life and someone who is close to my heart from your brother. The fact being that I _know_two of them don't like her should be enough of a reason," his eyes shot to Yuri, "And I love how you're going to defend him over me. I love that so dearly, Alex. I have the right to protect Ravan, so I'm going to do so. Even if you're not on my side with it." He walked towards the door, "Let's go Jason, we should get to sleep earlier to be able to walk with Gary and _Ravannah_like he wants us to."

Her own boyfriend just yelled at her. She watched him slam the door and leave with Jason. She made a bad move – she shouldn't have defended Yuri. But what about him? He made some bad choices. And he protected Ravan instead of her. She needed protecting from Vlad, and Simon wasn't going to protect her from him now.

She felt a tear slide down her cheek, and Vlad saw it. If he had one weakness, it was seeing his sister crying. And he knew it was his and Simon's fault, but he was going to blame it on that cocksucker. He took a step closer to her but she back up. "Please don't, Vlad. You've already done enough."

Vlad looked to Yuri for help. He'd never had to comfort his sister before. He could be an asshole to her and beat her up, but that's what a brother does, in his mind at least. When someone else messed with his sister though, it was a whole other story. "Alex…"

Alex shook her head and moved to the kitchen. "I'm calling mom!" She glanced at Yuri. She wasn't going to let him see her like this. She knew Simon and Ravan had known each other forever, but she thought that being his girlfriend, he'd protect her. Her tears wouldn't keep Vlad at bay for long.

Vlad watched his sister leave for the kitchen and ran a hand through his thick black hair. "Yuri, can you help me out here? What the fuck do I do? My mom is going to murder me!" If there was one thing in the entire earth he feared, it was the Big Man, or in a simpler name, his mother.

"I don't know how I could help with anything right now," Yuri tossed him his jacket, "You could stay the night over at my house." A light smile crossed his face, "You know… I live closer to Ravan and all that." Vlad nodded only once, slipping on his jacket. The two of them left the house, Vlad only glancing towards where Alex fled, before locking the door behind him.


	5. Decievers

**Thank you Prinzessin Mia for the review (here's your next update!) **

**And thank ya'll for the follows/favorites! Here's Chapter 5 ! And I know the chapters are long, but bare with me. **

**OoO**

She was miserable, and that word didn't even cover half it. Alex had spent the entire night, or at least until midnight, talking to her mom and her case as an attorney. She discussed her problems some, but she didn't want her mom to worry about her. Her mom needed to stay focused on work.

And to make matters worse, her brother left her alone all night. She wanted to be left alone, but not alone in the house. She couldn't even remember when she went to sleep, or even if she went to sleep. She had a test today and needed to pass it, and to add onto her problems, she had to walk to school this morning. She almost got hit by a car for Christ's sake!

Alex sighed and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. She resorted to sweatpants for the day, since her brother didn't do the laundry last night, and it was his chore. The coffee in her hands made her feel a little better, but she was tired, upset, and just wanted to go home. Maybe after the test she would, because damn, she couldn't remember ever being this tired.

She sat down at the group table, since she did arrive a bit earlier than the others. She didn't even run into Ravan on the way to school. Her fingers drug across the top of the table, waiting for at least Ravan to show, so she could shed some light on what exactly happened last night with Vlad.

**OoO**

Ravan walked in between Simon and Gary on their way to school. It was so weird, she was used to walking to school alone and flipping Gary out of bed. She came down the steps this morning to see Gary, bright eyed and bushy tailed. While asking what he was up to and why he was up so early, he tossed her the usual energy drink she drank every morning. Then there was a knock at the door. As soon as it opened, Jason hugged her tightly – declaring good morning to her. Which was even more off, since Jason couldn't hug her without awkwardly wrapping his arms around her, and hugged her even more awkward than the set up to it. Simon stood behind him, smiling himself. Why was everyone acting so differently lately? First Vlad, and now this.

Gary ushered her out of the house, saying that now they could all walk to school this morning, together. She had seen Simon glare down the street, she wasn't sure of what. The only two things down that street that she knew about was Gareth, which wouldn't make any sense for him to be glaring at. Unless he hasn't given back a borrowed item from Simon, which _could_make him glare that way. The other thing down that street was Yuri, but he didn't really have any opinion on him. With a shrug, she felt her brother link his arm with hers to tug her towards the school. This morning has started very oddly. She looked back to see two figures far down the street, but the sun glared in her eyes – so she couldn't get a good look. "So, what's the special occasion for this escort to school, gentlemen?" Ravan looked at Jason, then to Simon and finally to Gary.

Jason smiled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Just a couple friends walking to school together. What's wrong with that?"

Her face turned red slightly, he rarely ever touched her. Only to irritate Gary. "There's nothing wrong with that, only that you three are usually asleep because you go to bed so late." She looked over to Gary, waiting for him to say something about getting off her nuts, or to stop touching her. Something.

Gary debated on whether or not to yell at Jason. But it was either Jason or Vlad and he would much rather have Jason hugging his sister than Vlad. "Yeah, why were you guys up so early? It's not like you two." He knew Vlad was part of it, but the look on Simon's face said there was something else to this story.

Simon glanced back, it felt like they were being followed. "Well, we thought it'd be something to try. To wake up early for school, instead of inching in late."

Ravan tightened her ponytail, "If you guys say so," she rubbed her hands together. It was pretty cold this morning, but that's to be expected. This is when the temperature starts dropping here. She felt Jason's arm tighten around her shoulders when Simon whispered something to him. "What the hell are you two whispering about?"

Jason shook his head. "Simon is just being pissy this morning. He didn't want to get up early, even though it was _his _idea." He really couldn't come up with something better. Vlad and Yuri were right behind them, probably still fuming from last night's fight. What bothered him most about it though, Alex wasn't with them. Of course, he knew Vlad had probably gone over to Yuri's last night. It was closer to Ravan. The thought alone made his arm tighten around her.

If Vlad and Yuri weren't enough, he still was worried about Alex. He'd never seen Vlad, or Yuri, that mad before. And deep down a part of him wondered if Vlad had hurt her last night. It made his stomach churn. "Ravan, did Alex text you at all this morning?" He knew how suspicious that sounded, but he had to ask.

With that, Ravan stopped walking. She look at Gary and pushed him, "You told them, you little bug! You promised you didn't tell anyone!"

"I had to tell someone! What was I supposed to do? I didn't know what the hell is going on!" Gary looked at Jason. "Wait a second! Shouldn't it be, 'Ravan, did you text Alex this morning?' not the other way around! What's wrong with Alex?"

Jason put his hands up. "Woah! You're twisting things around Gary!" Jason turned to Ravan, trying to change the subject. He didn't really want to go into detail about last night. "And yes, Gary called Simon last night and told us both."

"I can't believe you, Gary!" She went to finish yelling at her flinching brother, but she tore her sight to look at Simon and Jason. "That's why you two are walking me to school. That's why you're actually pretending to be more interested in me, Jason. Just because you see someone else is," that really hurt Ravan. He only wanted to keep her away from Vlad, not because he actually felt anything for her. "What did you two _wonderful_people do to Alex last night, huh? She better be fine, or something bad is going to happen."

Simon felt his back hit a wall, "R-Ravan, it isn't like that. We fell–"

"Fell asleep? I'm so sure! You two were up late playing video games! I heard you three on headsets, you lying assholes!" This wasn't a yell, she actually screamed. You could hear her voice break at the end because of it. "First with my fucking brother lying straight to my face, and then you two lie straight to my face? What kind of friends does that? What kind of best friend does that? What kind of brother does that? How could you guys lie to me?!" Another scream.

"R-Ravan, we're sorry, but–" Simon grabbed Gary's arm and pulled him in front of him.

"I am so sick of this! Gary, you're my brother first, their friend second. You looked me right in the eyes and said you didn't tell anyone. Why didn't you just tell the truth?" Her eyes seemed like portals to the underworld at this point, "All three of you. That's all you had to do was tell the truth. I don't lie to you guys. I'm so fucking tired of all this shit, you guys lying, and then you all have the gall to pretend you want to walk me to school because you thought it'd be fun." She looked to Simon. "Or, because you're my brother and you love me." Now to Gary. "I'm so fucking glad you all are so fucking caring!" With that final scream, she saw Gary try to back into Simon.

"Woah now, let's not start a fight over here." Vlad came up behind Ravan and smiled. "First off, good morning Ravan," he turned his attention to Gary, Simon, and Jason. "Second – what the fuck did you three do to make her so damn angry!?" He knew _exactly_ why she was angry. She had been lied to. And damn, was she cute when she was angry.

All three of their eyebrows furrowed at Vlad, "This is none of your business, Vlad," Simon stepped beside Ravan, "get moving."

Gary stepped on her other side, and Jason stood behind her. Vlad only smirked slightly, and Ravan was still seething with anger. "Good morning, Vladimir." She said, calmly. She wasn't upset with him, so she wasn't going to take it out on him.

"Let's go," Simon's hand gripped on Ravan's upper arm tightly. Catching her off guard, making her flinch slightly. It didn't hurt, but she didn't expect it. Her feet drug for a second as they started to literally drag her to school. Well, at least away from Vlad. They knew Vlad wouldn't give up that easily.

When would they learn? Unluckily for them, he was in a fighting mood this morning. "So you two are just going to run off like little bitches? Well, one could expect that after last night. Tell me, did either of you stop to think to consider my sisters feelings?" He glared at Jason in Simon. Oh yes, he was still pissed about his sister crying, and over Simon fucking Riley!

"Yeah, I'm talking to you two, Simon, Jason. First you're assholes to my sister and now you've been caught lying to your friend Ravan. I don't really appreciate either offense."

Ravan pulled away from Simon to look at them, "What did you two do to Alex?"

Jason put his hands up, "I didn't do anything."

"Way to throw me under the bus, mate." Simon glared.

"Like you can really talk about loyalty right now," she growled, "What did you do?"

"There was a verbal fight between Vlad, Yuri and I. She tried to break it up, which I would've been fine with, other than," he pointed at Yuri, "She stood up for that little wanker instead of me."

"Because I'm a better person than you. At least I don't lie to my friends." Yuri crossed his arms, knowing that would burn him. His friends are everything to him.

"It wouldn't matter to your friends! You guys are a group of punks, liars and thieves!" Simon tried to jerk forward, but Jason stopped him. "I'm trying to protect my baby-sister from Vlad; all of this started because of him, anyway! So, let's go, Ravannah."

She looked at Simon, he rarely got angry and when he did – the whole world knew with that booming voice of his. Then she heard Vlad chuckling ever so lightly. "Simon, calm down…"

"Me? Calm down?" Simon towered over her, "What about you? Screaming at us like that. We lied once, so what. You're thinking about dancing with the devil. Don't you remember who he is, Ravan? The same guy who beat Jason and Gareth up every day in sixth grade? The same guy who physically and verbally abuses Alex on a daily basis? The same guy who shoved Gary into a locker, knowing he was claustrophobic and almost sent him to the hospital with the anxiety attack? The same exact fucking guy who has tortured us for years with his stupid minions."

"Why do you guys have to jump to conclusions all the time?" Ravan asked, anger still all over her face, almost as if a red aura could surround her at any moment. "You know what, you can't even blame him for this."

Her friends and even Yuri stood there in shock for a moment. "W-what are you talking about?" Gary stepped forward.

"All he did was hug me, after he gave me a ride home – when my _brother_ didn't remember to pick me up. When I didn't exist to you three last night, he was nice enough to give me a ride home. We've all done shit to each other, and it actually was really fucking nice of him to go out of his way for someone for a second. But no, you guys had to demonize it. You guys had to fly off the handle. Yeah, I hugged him after he gave me a ride home. So what? I hug a lot of people, and for some reason – this couldn't just be left at that. Instead, you three had to get all serious about it. Where were you last night, Jason? Someone who offered to walk me home. Then when I declined, he said he text me to check up on me. Where were you Simon? Someone who usually calls to make sure I got home alright. Right, you two were over with Alex and didn't have time to message me in the slightest. Thank you for all of this. All three of you."

Vlad stood there, actually shocked. He didn't actually think she'd stand up for him, let alone in front of her friends. He opened his mouth, trying to find something to say without making himself soft in front of her friends. Nothing came to mind.

"And thanks to you two as well, my sister spent the entire night crying! And you both know that girl never cries!" Although he wasn't home last night, he was positive she spent most of the night crying and didn't get much sleep. "And I don't like how you're treating Ravan right now. That's two women in _my _house you've offended." He glared at them, all of them a little shocked. It was hard to tell during this little spat. Oh yes, he did say in _his _house.

Ravan smacked her brother's hand away, "I'm going to go see if Alex is here yet, alone. You three can go off somewhere else so I can talk to her, and I need to get away from you for a bit." Without an answer she began stomping her way towards school. She only heard one set of footsteps following her, but when she turned to look, it was Vlad. At another glance, she saw Jason and Gary arguing with each other. Probably because the other one didn't pick her up or check on her. Simon and Yuri were yelling at each other too, but she couldn't really decide on what issue. Her body tightened as she felt his cologne wrap around her and invade her sense of smell. "Yes, Vlad?"

He smiled at her and began to walk with her. "Thank you, for defending me." He sighed. "And for sticking up for my sister. But never tell her I said that or that girl will smother me with hugs. She's a hugger, like you."

He glanced back at the fighting men. He was definitely the most mature out of all of them. But Yuri… well Yuri could be mature when he didn't have a bone to pick with someone. Vlad could only guess it was Simon's comment about Yuri's father last night.

Vlad looked back at Ravan. "And thank you, again. For both things. It can't be easy going against your friends."

"No problem, Vladimir." She sighed heavily, "I just wish they'd stop being assumers and I wish my brother would quit lying to me. This is, like, the three hundredth time this week. I don't know why he's been lying so much. Then Jason being an asshole like that…" her voice held more hurt than she would've liked to have shown at that moment. "I'm sorry my hug started all of this, I never thought it'd turn into this fight fest…"

Vlad chuckled. "I'm used to fight fest by now with Alex. It's a daily thing, you know," his eyebrows furrowed. "We don't like each other, but we never lie to each other. It's the straight up truth, most of the time. Except for last night."

He wasn't sure if he'd over step a boundary, but she looked upset, so he draped an arm over her shoulders. It was something he saw guys do to their girls when the girl was down. He only hoped she wouldn't back away.

Ravan's lip bottom lip started quivering, and it was something Vlad had never seen. Her breathing began to break as she tried to keep herself from falling apart. She didn't want to cry in front of Vlad, that was the last person she'd ever want to cry in front of. But she couldn't hold it in, she stopped walking. Her hands shot up to her face as she began to openly sob in front of him. Never in her life had Gary lied to her so much, never in the time she new Simon had he ever lied to her either. Jason acted like he had feelings for her just so Vlad would go away. Her cries were audible as she tried to calm herself down, knowing that he probably would just stand there or walk away.

What was he supposed to do? If he walked away, he was dick. He ran a hand through his hair and thought of what he'd do if he had been alone with Alex last night. Oh god this wasn't his thing. He couldn't just let her stand there and cry like that. He couldn't stand seeing her cry – it was like seeing Alex cry last night, except this time he had a chance to do something about it.

"Ravan…" He wrapped his arms around her and placed his head on top of hers. It felt… strange. He'd never really been there to comfort someone before, and when he had, he hadn't really done anything. He held her tighter as she cried. "Ravan, please don't cry…" Oh if only Yuri and the gang could see him now. They'd think he'd gone soft. Maybe he had become soft.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his middle as she cried onto his shirt. Through the pain she felt inside, she could still feel how weird this way. She can't remember time Vlad ever hugged anyone, not even Alex. She started to calm herself down so she could be able to breathe better as he held her. No one walked this way to school, and the group they left behind hasn't came yet. They probably took a different way to let her cool down. Once her breathing was as best as she could get it, she pulled her face away from his chest to stare at the noticeable water spot on his shirt. Her eyes then looked up into his, glassy and probably slightly red from crying. Face stained with tears. "Thank you, Vladimir…" her voice quiet and broken.

He smiled down at her. "Any time, Ravan." He kissed the top of her head like last night and smiled at her. In a way, he felt guilty.

Alex had probably balled her eyes out last night and it was his duty as the older brother to care for her and fight with her, whether it was against her or against someone else. But Alex was the least of his worries.

Ravan returned a smile before digging through her satchel and pulled out a couple of Kleenex. She wiped her face off, and stuck the tissue inside one of the unused pocket. She took the other two, and tried getting the tear stain off of his shirt, "I'm really sorry," she kind of laughed as he hand brushed the tissues up and down over his chest.

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Yuri probably has a spare for me to wear. It's no big deal, Ravan." He grabbed her wrist but didn't move it away from him. He could care less if Yuri was watching any exchange between them. Yuri could keep things from the others.

She looked at his fingers wrapped around her wrist, causing a light blush to spread across her face. Pulling her hand back, she quickly stuffed the tissue away, "Right, sorry." She felt like a creepy idiot. Her eyes glanced around, she felt so awkward. Embarrassed that she couldn't make the blushing going away, and with her pallid skin it was easily seen. While she had a porcelain like complexion, her brother got out more. So, he was noticeably tanner – little things like that made people question them being twins.

Vlad chuckled at the red in her face. He wouldn't embarrass her anymore rate now. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "How about we get to school? You need to talk to Alex, I need to talk to Alex – everyone needs to talk to Alex," he laughed. Alex hated being the center of attention. "And I need that shirt from Yuri."

As they got closer to the school, Ravan pulled out from his reach and stood a good distance away from him. This morning had already been filled to the brim with drama, and she needed a break. She jogged towards their normal table, sliding in across from Alex. "I heard you had a fun night last night." She pulled a wrapped cookie out of her satchel and tossed it to her.

Alex tried to hide her face, knowing her eyes were still probably a little red. She took the cookie and stared at it. "Oh it was an amazing party. Just my brother, Yuri, Simon, and Jason all under one roof. I had a blast." She took a bite of the cookie. "Just an amazingly fun time."

She glanced at Vlad as he walked over to his friends. For a moment, since she was still angry with him, she was tempted to yell at him. Actually, she wanted to yell at everyone, especially Yuri, Simon, and Vlad – Yuri for being stupid and not helping her out, Simon for leaving and not being there, and Vlad for being an asshole.

"How'd your night go?"

"Well, I'm sure Gary told you," Ravan looked back at Vlad. She sighed deeply, "My brother forgot to pick me up last night, and Jason never texted to check up on me. So, your brother was kind enough to give me a ride home, and for once he wasn't acting like a giant jackass. He walked me up to the door, and I'm hugger, you know that, and I gave him a hug for giving me a ride home. Little to my knowledge did I know he was going to kiss the top of my head. Then Gary apparently told you all, looked me straight in the face and said he didn't tell anyone. Then he and I got into a huge argument, and yeah. I had about as good of a night as you did."

Alex bit her lip. She wanted to tell Ravan that is was no coincidence that Vlad showed up at the Coffee Bean last night, but she didn't want another yelling match with her Vlad. "Yeah. I'm glad you only had Gary to deal with. I had world war three going on in my house. Remind to find a better hiding spot for guests who aren't supposed to be at my house."

She looked up at Ravan. "How was the gang this morning?"

Her eyes looked away as she felt them burn slightly, "This morning was fucking amazing. I wake up early, Gary's all ready to go. Simon and Jason come over to walk me to school, Jason puts his arm over my shoulders and they're all acting off. That's how I knew Gary had told them. I lost my temper will all three of them. Them lying straight to my face, and Jason being interested in me _just_ to chase your brother away really hurt me. Speaking of your brother, he and Yuri walked to school and ended up running into us… Then World War Three resumed…" she sniffled slightly.

Alex could only imagine. It was overwhelming, to be the center of such a problem, or what everyone seems to see as a problem. Of course she didn't want her brother and Ravan dating, but there was little she could do to stop it from happening. Yuri's encouragement didn't help either_._

"Vlad always shows up at the worst, and the best, times. Which was it this time? Worst or best time?" She raised a curious eyebrow at her friend.

"I'm not even really sure…" Her eyes caught a substitute. Alex watched as she jogged off to talk to her, and she returned. "Grab your shit, we're ditching."

Alex stared at her. "Dude, I can't! I have a test in like 2 hours!" She didn't want to take it, but if she missed it, her mom would kill her. "Why can't we just wait until I'm finished?"

Ravan shoved her bag to her, "I have the same test today, but that sub was for Mr. Richardson. He's at home 'sick' so the test isn't until tomorrow." Her eyes rolled knowing that 'sick' probably just meant he was hungover. "Now, let's go before everyone else shows up. We can just stay at my house eating, playing games and watching Netflix."

She'd probably get murdered by her brother and yelled at by her parents, but she grabbed her bag and books. "Dude, you had me at 'the test isn't until tomorrow'."


	6. It's Not Over

Gary, Simon and Jason all stood around during lunch period – glancing around. Alex and Ravan have been missing all day, and no one knows where they are. Gary dialed his sister's number again, but it went straight to voicemail. "Great, my sister hates me. She's going to disown me, and deny that we're twins!"

Simon looked at him, "You can't… You can't really do that."

"And she hates you because you lied, and I'm a liar. I'm a dirty, dirty, dirty, liar! I feel so bad inside! Why did I do that?!"

"Dude, calm down…" Jason muttered.

"No, and now you'll never have chance at love with her. That stupid dream you had about you two getting married – gone, out the window in the breeze." Gary yelled loud enough for a couple of people to look over. Simon gripped his hand over his mouth, "she's going to elope with Vlad!" he cried, muffled.

Jason glared at Gary. "Can you be anymore louder? Do you want the entire school to hear you? Imagine how more pissed Ravan would be if she heard you saying that!" Sometimes, Gary just didn't think things through.

"And those two are not going to elope! As long as I'm alive, that'll never happen!" And he had a feeling Simon and Alex would agree with him. Or Alex would if she was here.

He pushed Simon away from him, "This is my fault. My sister will never love me again. All she's going to do is be all evil and obsessed with Vlad."

"I don't plan to corrupt her right off the back, but eh," Vlad stood directly behind him, "she might have it in her already, with that anger."

Yuri chuckled, "Yeah… Where's Alex?"

"Better yet, where's Ravan?" Vlad sneered at Jason.

"Why are you asking us? You were the last one to see her, _Vlad_. You should be the one answering the question and we should be the one's asking." Jason sneered back at him.

Simon narrowed his eyes at Yuri. "What makes you think you can even talk about _my _girlfriend, mate? It's none of your damn business where she's at." Gary was stuck between the table and Vlad, with really nowhere else to go. "Uh, Vlad… you're invading my space."

Yuri smiled very lightly, "I can talk about who I ever I wish."

"Well, according to you, Sanderson, I'm going to be your brother in law one day," Vlad grinned, "and Ravan will be so happy to be with someone who actually shows that he's interested in." His eyes trailed to Jason, "Not someone who lies to her face and hurts her. I'll be sure to drop an invite to our wedding somewhere near you guys."

Jason gripped the end of the table. He wanted the subject changed, but he needed to stand up for Ravan. "There isn't going to be a damn wedding between you two, _ever_. Once she gets her senses back she'd going to remember _who _and _what _you are. You might as well stop trying."

"And you will never, _ever_, be my brother in law! That wasn't for your ears!" Gary glared at him, finding the courage to stand up to Vlad for the second time today. "You two will never be getting married! Like our parents would ever allow it!"

"Hmm… Last I checked, I didn't say I was going to ask for a blessing," Vlad shrugged, "but that's fine." Vlad nudged Yuri.

"Yes, Vlad?"

"McTavvy here thinks that Ravan is going to go running into his arms, isn't that cute?"

"Or _Ri-Ri _here thinks that Alex is going to stick around forever with him."

Vlad chuckled. "Yes, _Ri-Ri_, do you really think my sister is going to be around you forever? Especially with how you treated her last night," he sighed and looked at Yuri, "Poor thing was balling her eyes out the _entire_ night. What a boyfriend you are, making a girl who never cries, cry."

Yuri narrowed his eyes at the group. "Oh, make it two women. I heard from a little birdy that another little woman had a fit this morning. And here I thought friends were supposed to keep each other happy, not make them cry."

Did these two ever know when to stop? Of course they didn't! Jason glared at them. "What would you two know about relationships and friendship anyways? Vlad has different slut every couple weeks and Yuri, I don't think I've ever seen you with a women!"

"I'm just a gentleman who doesn't kiss and tell," Yuri shrugged.

"But that's just it," Vlad's smile just didn't stop growing, "Maybe Ravan will _fix _me. You know, I didn't hear her objecting about the first or second time I kissed the top of her head," he usually would say anything about this, but he wanted to get them going. "Or when I held her after her supposed _Knight In Shining Armor _Jason here made her cry. Or when her best friend made her cry. Or when her flesh and blood made her cry. I don't even lie to Alex, so you know how low that is."

Simon wasn't going to stand there and watch. Alex was _his _girlfriend and Ravan was _his _best-friend. "You don't know Alex," He stood up and glared at Yuri, then he returned his attention to his problem – Vlad.

"And you sure as hell don't know Ravan. You think you two are going to end up together and it's going to be all flowers and chocolates? Well think again, _mate_. I can see rate through your disguise. I can see that you are just putting up this act to win her over, screw her, and then toss her away when you're done. You're only putting up such a strong act because you know she's too smart for what you probably rehearse every damn day. So let me tell you," Simon clenched and unclenched his hands, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. "I will not sit idly by and watch you hurt her. I will not watch you tear her down and then have us build her back up. So quit with the act, leave Ravan alone, and go fuck your slut."

Something that should have knocked the smile right off of Vlad's face, simply didn't. All it made him do was chuckle deep down in his throat as he adjusted the left strap to his backpack. "Simon, Simon, Simon… If only you and your two stooges knew anything of substance. You just won't admit that Ravan and I are actually compatible. Yes, she's little bubblier than me – but she has the same fire in her heart and soul as I do. The same torrent of rage swirling inside her being. You'd rather just convince yourself that we don't fit together because that's all you really have to protect her." Simon went to retort, but Vlad made a 'shush' gesture with his finger. "If you all wanted to protect her so badly, why was no one with her last night? Why was no one checking up on her last night? Better yet, after that one spilled the beans, did you two call to check? Or were you too mad that she thanked the only person there to make sure she got home safely?"

Yuri looked at Vlad, he rarely ever goes logical in arguments. It's usually just a lot of insults and name-calling, but this was different. His direction then went towards Simon, "Oh, I know more than you'd ever like to think. I mean, I am Vlad's best friend, and I am welcomed in his home."

Simon's eyebrows scrunched together. He was pissed, no furious with Vlad, but what was Yuri talking about? How could he possibly know Alex the way he does? The look on his face. First confident and then anxious as he finished. What the fuck was he hiding? He couldn't have been the only one to notice.

He leaned forward to Yuri. "And you – stay the fuck away from _my_ girlfriend."

Gary wished he had Ravan's temper or her mind rate now. He couldn't come up with something to say to Vlad. None of them checked up on her. He looked up at Jason, who looked just as he did – lost. He didn't want to admit they had lost, but what else was there to do? They couldn't just give up on Ravan. When the three of them needed them the most, they were nowhere to be seen. To make things worse, none of them had experience with this kind of argument. Insults, yes, but not whatever the hell this was.

With a simple turn, and a victorious smile on his face, he pulled his phone out. But he didn't walk away, instead in front of them, dialed a number. Gary's eyes tripled in size as he recognized the number. That was Ravan's number, his sister's number. How did he get her number? They watched as his finger pressed the call button. You could hear all three of their hearts pounding against their chest. "Ah, yes, Ravan." Their hearts collapsed, "Where are you? At home? Is Alex with you? I'll stop by after school. Bye." He glanced over his shoulder, "They ditched for the day." And walked off.

Yuri shrugged, he didn't even know how Vlad got Ravan's number, but he didn't care. It made him smile to see that huge look of defeat on their faces. Of course she was going to answer any of them after what they pulled this morning. "See you, _gentlemen_."

Simon glared after Yuri and Vlad. "Have I ever told you two how much I want to shove that fuckers head down a wood chipper?"

Jason sighed. "Or acid? Make him suffer."

Gary sighed. "I'm a terrible brother! I let him win! Why did we let him win?"

"He may have won the battle," Simon yanked his backpack over his shoulders, "but he's far from winning the war. After school, we gotta get to Gary's house first. We have to protect Ravan from Vlad." He began walking to their only shared period, English. "Make sure the little fuck Yuri stays far, far away from _my_ Alex."

Gary nodded quickly, "He's not putting his hands on my sister!"

Jason walked along side them, "Yeah, there's no way we'll let him win. No way."

**OoO**

Alex sat with Ravan on the small couch in Ravan's room, curled up under a blanket and scrolling through movies to watch like they had been since they got here. She was happy to be warm and cozy instead of at school, where it happened to be abnormally cold, to her at least. And with being here, she didn't have to face the rest of the gang until tomorrow.

Looking over at Ravan, she was happy to know she was feeling a little better. Ravan had explained in more detail what had happened last night and this morning to her, and Alex couldn't believe her brothers audacity in confronting Ravan, Simon, Gary, and Jason in broad daylight. She knew her brother was confident, but this kind of confident was new to her. He was pushing limits, limits that shouldn't be pushed.

Alex brushed her overly long black bangs out of face and sighed. "So, what do you plan on doing about this, Ravan?"

Ravan glanced over at her, an emerald shining with the sun light seeping into the room. Her eyebrows furrowed as her face bore a look that she and Gary shared. She wasn't really sure what to do, she had a chair underneath the door handle to let her know when someone was trying to get in. Ever since her dad caught Jason here at nine at night, outside with her on the swing – she had lost lock privileges. Not like anything even remotely happened. She had no idea on what she was going to do, she _lived _with Gary – someone that was a big part of the issue. Not only that, she could only ignore Simon, someone who only lived a door down from her, for so long. "I'm not even sure where to start. Probably with Gary for making this whole thing bigger than it needed to be. Given, your brother is a bit of an asshole, I can't recall him ever being nasty to me. Other when he insulted us as a group, but he'd always look at me like he was apologizing for a split second." She sat up, wrapped her fluffy comforter around her being, "Your brother is one complicated dude."

Alex bit her lip. If only Ravan knew about Vlad's little crush that wasn't so little. Though she suspected Ravan was aware of Vlad's affection for her, Alex wasn't going to divulge anything Vlad had said about Ravan or how he knew where and when she worked. And if Simon, Gary, and Jason knew she had been the one to tell him! Oh she'd be under the bus for sure.

She cracked a smile at Ravan, trying to push her guilty thoughts away. "You're telling me and he's my brother! I've known him my entire life and he's still confusing and complicated! Especially lately. He's been… well, I don't know how to explain it. Ever since this school year started he's been weirder than usual."

"This whole year has been weird," she heard the front door slam and three sets of footsteps come running up the stairs. "Great." She counted down on her fingers, _three, two, one, _- SLAM. Probably noting that Gary just slammed face first into the door. "Go away,_ Bryce_!" She shouted, knowing damn well that he hated that.

With another slam, Gary stormed into the room and tripped over the chair, "Don't call me Bryce, Ravannah!" He bellowed from the floor, scrambling to his feet. "I'M TELLING DAD YOU'RE GIVING YOUR NUMBER TO BOYS!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "I didn't give Vlad my number. I'm actually unsure of how he got it. I figured he creeped on Alex's phone or something."

"You are in so much trouble!" He flailed, "I'm going to tell mom, and then mom is going to tell dad and then—"

"Dad will not only erase every guy's number, including Jason, Simon, Gerald, Garth, Andy and John and ground me, but he will ground you for _letting _me."

"I never saw you give Vlad your number!"

Ravan stood up, "Daddy, Gary said it'd be okay if I gave my number to Vladimir, he said that he wouldn't tell." She said ever so sweetly, before shoving him. "You'll be in just as much trouble as I'll be."

Alex smiled sweetly at Gary. "And since your dad loves me so much, I'll be happy to tell him the same story, and you know he'll believe me. I'm a great liar." If there was one thing she learned from her brother, it was how to lie. Lying 101 with Vlad was her summer course.

Jason entered next. "Dude, how did he get your number? That's just fucking creepy."

Ravan glanced over Jason as he stood unbearably close to her, his arm brushing against her. She cleared her throat, "I'm actually not sure. I never gave it to him, he never even asked."

Gary's lip pouted, "That's not even fair—"

"No, what's not even fair is my brother and two closest friends acting the way they've been acting in the past twenty-four hours. Like itty bitty children, and frankly, it's pretty fucking annoying."

Simon sighed. "Ravan, we're just trying to look out for you! He's no good for you, for anyone!" He glanced over at Alex and saw a hint of hurt on her face. It was Vladimir Makarov for gods sake, not some damn princess fairy!

Alex stood and put her hands on her hips. "Could we all just let it go? He hugged her, he kissed her head – big fucking whoop! What happened in the past is in the past, so can please just move on with our lives?"

"How could you say that? You know better than anyone how your brother is! There's no way in hell you're okay with this!" Jason stood there, exasperated. Was she really just okay with this?

Ravan placed her hand on Gary's shoulder, "I know all of you are just trying to protect me from the _big bad monster under the bed_, but I'm old enough, and get better grades than you three to know what's bad for me. I can plainly see what he is, but you want to know something. Vlad has never been rude to me on his own, and he's the only male I'm forced to be contact with who hasn't directly hurt me." Her arms crossed tightly over her chest, "So, can we all just please let everything go?"

With a look of defeat, Gary nodded only once, "Maybe…"

There was a light knock at the door, making them all turn to see who it was. Gary stared wide eyed and furious. "MAYBE NOT!" Vlad and Yuri stood in the doorway of the room, watching with amusement.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!?"

Alex raised an eyebrow at her brother. He just reached a whole new level of crazy. Yuri sent her look, one that said he tried to stop him. He apparently failed.

Vlad looked around the room until his eyes landed on Ravan. "I hope I'm not interrupting. The front door was unlocked and I heard some yelling," he smiled at her, "I would have stayed down, but it sounded serious – needed to make sure you were alright."

"Everything's fine, Vladimir," Ravan said softly. Gary fell to the ground at the sound of his sister using his full name. She nudged him with her foot, "They're just being their usual selves is all."

"Apparently, their usual selves require a lot of yelling," Yuri acted as if he was jotting down notes. "How does this all make you feel?" His stuck his pen in front of Simon's face, acting to be a news reporter. This gaining a small chuckle from Vlad, until his sight went straight to Alex.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, won't mom and dad _love_ to hear this? Pretty little princess took the day off and didn't tell them. Mom and daddy won't be pleased."

Alex sneered at her brother. "Oh go screw yourself! This is _my _zone, _my_ personal life! And you seem to be interfering in it a lot lately! Now get out with your friend and go home like a good boy! I'm done with you for the day!"

"Grow up! You have to come home today because mom and dad will be there! And I'll be damn sure to tell them you ditched!"

Simon grabbed the pen between his fingers and moved it out of his face. Yuri had a good inch or two on him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hit him if he kept being an annoying little shit. "Get the fuck out, both of you. You're not wanted here."

Yuri yanked his pen back, "Can't take a little joke, Ri-Ri?"

Gary joined Simon's side, "Get out of my house before I call the police! My dad's the chief, and won't want some little hoods hanging around his daughter!"

"Oh, bite me, Sanderson."

"Mark a spot!"

Jason stood by his friends, "Feelin' froggy, Yuri? Then leap."

As everyone started bickering with each other, Ravan tried to defuse the entire situation. She placed a hand gently against Vlad's upper arm as she looked at his face. Caught off guard he looked back down at her, Alex being the only one to notice at first. His eyes scanned down her freshly painted neon green nails, down her fingers – the index having the silhouette of a bird on the ring – and down her arm until his eyes finally landed on hers. "Look, Vladimir," she waited to be corrected, but he didn't do it before, why now? She stood a bit closer to him, "The ditching was my idea. Alex and I have had a rough twenty-four hours lately, and the test we were going to take was moved to tomorrow. So, I figured she and I, already having straight A's, could just get away from school for awhile." Her fingers inched up and down his upper arm.

Gary went to retort, but Simon silenced him. Knowing full well that Ravan was just getting Alex out of trouble. He couldn't go an entire week, knowing that's how long she's usually grounded for, without seeing her. His friend looked up at him, kind of getting the hint.

Vlad's sapphire and emerald eyes trailed over Ravan's face. He took a glance at Alex. "Hmm… I guess the offense could be… excused, for now." Alex smiled. Vlad returned his gaze to Ravan and gave a small smile. He was finding it a little hard to concentrate with her fingers moving along his arm and he knew she was doing it on purpose.

He looked at her fingers as they moved along his arm. "You're distracting me."

Alex cracked a small smile at her brother, deep in thought. It was actually kind of cute – Vlad, the big bad wolf, left with no insults. She looked over at Yuri, who met her gaze. Speechless and distracted Vlad was quite funny to them both. When a man who is nothing but rude, crude, and a complete asshole all the time is star struck, it was funny to see. And the best part to Alex? It was in front of a group of people he hated. Oh she was going to tease him about this for _years_.


	7. Somethin' Bad

**So much for my posting once a week thing. If my laptop decides to behave, I will try to post another chapter before the week is over. But here's Chapter 6! Thank you for the review, it's much appreciated. **

**On a side note, Ravan does**** NOT**** belong to me. She belongs to my friend Lara, not me.**

**OoO**

It was late out, though he had forgotten how late. The wind blew slightly and the temperature had dropped. It was a rather cold night and the nights would only get colder. He asked himself why he had picked the park of all places to meet Ravan, and reminded himself it was the only place that was always deserted at this hour.

While he waited, he glanced around at the sky and thought. Not much had changed, yet everything felt so different. He knew it was because of Ravan. Yuri was the only one who knew of his friends about what had been going on, and he regretted letting his best friend in on the secret. Bastard wouldn't shut up about it when they were alone.

The more he thought about his "little crush", the more he wondered how it would affect his social life from here on out. Things were going well and he knew they'd only get better from his sisters spying. If only her friends knew of her espionage on them. Every day she willingly reported back to him on the day's events, as if she wanted the two of them to be together. It was hard for him to believe, but he was glad to have his sister in his arsenal, despite his dislike for her. She could be very useful. And he was happy to have someone other than Yuri on board with him dating Ravan, though he had yet to ask her out properly.

The thought of having to ask a girl out in a good way suddenly bothered him. This wasn't Natalie, who had yet to hear the news, or another girl he went through every couple weeks – this was Ravan, a girl who had respect for herself and put herself in a high place. He stood there, looking at the sky, dumbfounded. Would Alex know how to ask a girl out? He sure as hell wasn't going to ask Yuri. He was already teased enough as it is.

Hearing footsteps, he tore his gaze from the sky and smiled as the small figure came into the lights around the park. "And here I thought you got lost, Ravan. Hard time getting out of the house?"

Ravan smiled lightly as she sat on top of the table next to him, rather than just sitting on the bench. "Gary was playing solider outside of my bedroom door. Finally had to tell dad that he was getting a C in math so he'd send him to bed, or to study. But I suppose next time if I'm running a bit late, I'll just drop you a text baring just a 'never mind'." Her hand playfully ruffled his slightly tousled black hair.

He gently nudged her leg with his arm. "If you did that I'd just come over to your house. How is mister Gary Sanderson? Is he taking _this _any better?" Though he already knew the answer, he still wanted to hear it. He liked to know he was getting under Gary's skin more than usual.

"I'm actually unsure of how he's taking anything. Jason hasn't texted me in days, though." She slid down off the table to sit next to him, her arm hooking under his from losing her balance. She sat up right, pulling her arm to her side. _Wow, balance much? _Her smile hid her thought, "Gary'll probably always be up in arms about something I'm doing. I understand he's my brother and everything, but he must have the stomach lining of a sixty year old with how much he stresses over things."

Vlad chuckled at her and wrapped an arm over her shoulders. "Eh, brothers will be brothers, just as sisters will be sisters. Alex has been one protective bitch this past week. I can't set one foot outside the front door without her asking me where I'm going and what my plans are. The girl is like a mother hen!" He threw his head back and sighed. His sister's behavior bothered him. She was not his mother and he didn't need her acting like his mother either. He was 17 years old and didn't need the protection of his bratty little sister, only her advice.

She nuzzled closer under his arm as the wind bit at her face, "Some siblings need to take a break. I don't pester Gary all the time, but he wants to be in every bit of my business. Which he doesn't need to be. Then Simon is like another brother, I'm always finding his nose in places it doesn't belong, either." She let out a huff, "I just want everyone to back out my business from time to time and not treat me like I'm an idiot. I get better grades than them, and I'm not one of the two who had to go get treated for burn wounds for playing with fireworks when they were twelve. So, I think I can think for myself just a bit."

It was good to have someone who understood the sibling problem. Yuri was an only child, but he had other problems he wasn't too talkative about. Vlad didn't blame him. "Your friends shouldn't be telling you what to do. Siblings can, friends cannot but will anyways." He looked back up at the sky. "But I guess they just worry. I worry about you to ya know." He nuzzled her head affectionately, an act that Natalie didn't let him do.

"Yes, I know." She glanced around the deserted park. It was so weird to be here this late at night; usually this park was full of children. Sometimes full of teenagers right after school let out. Teens hanging out with people they shouldn't be, but Ravan wasn't too far off from that being her scenario. She placed her hand on top of Vlad's where it was resting on the table. "And don't think just because you think you're all big and bad that I don't worry about you. There's always going to be someone bigger and badder, and I really don't want you to get hurt."

He snorted. Like anyone at the school could take him down. He went to the gym every Saturday with his friends, kickboxing and weightlifting mostly – no one was going to fuck with him, and if they did, he sure as hell wasn't losing. "Ravan, there is no one in the school who would mess with all of this," he gestured to himself, a smile on his face, "besides my friends and maybe Simon, definitely Alex, and of course, you."

Vlad did appreciate that she worried about him, but he was a big boy. "But thank you, for worrying. I wish you wouldn't, but I'm glad to know you think about me and my safety." A teasing smile crossed his features as he watched at her.

Her eyes scanned over his face, chuckling a bit at his arrogance. She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb, fingers half entwined with his. "I don't mean just our school," she glanced off, "bigger people…" She waited for him to get defensive, but all he did was tighten his grip on her hand. The thought of Vlad ever being scared, or ever being seen as weak was unheard of. Sometimes she forgot herself, even though she witnessed it firsthand. She placed her head against his shoulder, "I never hated you like my friends do, even though it's been said by multiple people other than me. I just don't like the things you do…" her harlequin pools glanced off, "_Milaya."_

His jaw tensed. It had been a long time since _anyone_, especially Ravan, had called him that. A childhood nickname meaning "sweet", it brought back memories he had only entrusted to Yuri and occasionally his sister. It reminded him of a darker time in his life, one that still stuck with him, and Alex, to the day. It was one only a select people knew about. Five people to be exact.

He rubbed over her knuckles, an act that was meant more to soothe himself more than anything. "It's been a long time since you've called me that. A really long time."

Ravan lightly smiled, watching his thumb tracing over her hand. "It's been a really long time since I've been able to talk to you without you chewing out someone." It felt like she was part of some secret club when she was alone with Vlad. He treated her better than he treated anyone else – that she's seen. He didn't belittle her, he acted like a normal human being. She scooted closer to him, until her ribs were touching his. Her other hand reached up to push his hair up slightly, like he had done for years. The tips of her fingers twiddling a few pieces of hair between her index finger and thumb. Without actually thinking, she placed her lips against his cheek for a moment, before retracting back to her original position. "It's nice, actually."

Vlad hoped she wasn't seeing the red coming to his face, but he knew she had. He put his forehead against the side of her head and relaxed. He wasn't going to let some problem in the past ruin the present for him rate now. "It does feel nice. No yelling, no insults – just talking." Talking had been something he hadn't done in awhile. And frankly, it felt good to just talk to someone.

"No groups, no tension, no stress." She snuggled against his chest. It really was nice, nothing in the air. No thoughts of him hating him, or her hating her – anything like that was no where to be found. Didn't have to worry about grades, didn't have to worry about friends. She let his cologne wrap around her as she cuddled closer to him. The cool night with the moon lighting up the sky – this almost didn't feel real. Snuggling closer, she felt his facial hair brush against her soft skin, leaving signs of irritation slightly on her pallid complexion. "This is probably the most relaxed I've been since eighth grade." Her voice soft and content.

He glanced down at her and then closed his eyes, relaxing in the cool night air. It was cold, but it was now bearable to him with Ravan's warmth spreading through his body. It was clear to him now that there was a difference between being comfortable with his friends and being comfortable with a girl, which had only happened with Alex, and it was never to this extent.

Vlad held her tighter, feeling protective. He was making her feel relaxed, not anyone else. And he was thankful for it, to have someone who trusted him enough to be like this around him. "Thank you, Ravan, for everything."

Ravan looked up, which caused Vlad to move his head. She let herself stare into his eyes for a brief moment, the mismatched orbs staring right back at her. Her lips pulled slightly to make a small smile, making her blush when he returned it. Why couldn't everyone see this side of Vlad? The side that really cares about her. The side where he treats her really well, sometimes even better than they treat her at points. She gently drug the tips of her fingers down his jaw line, stopping at his chin. A part from the arguing with Gary, this had probably been one of the best nights she's had in ages. Her hand cupped the side of his face, something that he wasn't used to by his reaction. Inching forward, she pulled him towards her for their lips to meet. The moment they touched it sent this small jolt of energy though her. Each moment that passed made the kiss deeper, until it lost all trace of shock – shock being replaced with passion.

Vlad attempted to gather his thoughts, but he couldn't – everything was a jumbled mess, except _this_. Tonight he had expected to talk to her, ask her out in his own way even, and if he was lucky, do this. Luck was apparently on his side tonight. This wasn't Natalie or a whore – this was a respected girl at their school, Ravan to be specific.

And hell, if this was his lucky night, he sure as hell didn't want this to end. It might all be some cruel dream, and if that was the case, he didn't want to wake up.

She pulled her face away to look him in the face, which was covered with confusion and something else she couldn't quite place. With a small giggle she smiled at him, embracing him into a tight hug. That felt better than she could've ever hoped. She might even dare say it felt better than her first kiss with Jason in eighth grade. This time she knew he was interested, and didn't just want his first kiss to be something he messed up. Vlad actually was interested in her, and there wasn't a doubt about it. They just sat there, holding each other for quite some time.

**OoO**

Cornflower blue eyes peered at the two supposed lovers in his head, holding each other – caressing each other. Tighter than anyone would ever think Ravan to be with anyone. Besides that moron Jason, that is. They made sure their flash was turned off on their phone, the moon being enough light for the world to see this ugly truth. Goodie Two Shoes Ravannah Sanderson is having some sort of secret relationship with the worst person in their school, Vladimir Makarov. _This_. This was something too good to pass up. If her friends ever knew about this, they'd probably maul Vlad. Which is what they wanted. Vlad to be struck down as far as humanely possible. Their thumb clicked a couple of pictures, but they already knew which ones were going to be used. The _one_. Ravannah and Vlad locking lips, tangled close together in secret, under the daring moonlight. Oh, how the school paper will _**love **_this.


End file.
